TEMPE, Ariz. — This spring, Jose Fernandez can focus on simply trying to win a major league job, rather than the head-spinning adjustments of a year ago in Dodgers camp.

Not only was the Cuban infielder acclimating to a new country, he was trying to his get his spikes back under him after barely playing baseball for the previous three years.

The Angels’ Jose Fernandez plays against the Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Angels’ Jose Fernandez throws to first against the Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (Kevin Sullivan/SCNG)

The Angels’ Jose Fernandez can’t get the Milwaukee Brewers’ Keon Broxton out at second on a fourth inning steal at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Angels’ Jose Fernandez plays against the Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

“Being on the field allows you to at least be thinking about what you need to do to make sure everything comes back,” Fernandez said in Spanish, via Angels broadcaster Jose Mota. “I’m happy about where I am.”

In camp competing for a spot on the Angels bench, Fernandez is still looking to make his major league debut as he bears down on his 30th birthday next month. He is making up for time lost from the prime of his career, the result of a ban in Cuba after he failed in an attempt to defect.

Fernandez said he went nearly three years without playing baseball after the defection attempt.

“There were some days when it seemed so far away that I was ever going to play again,” Fernandez said. “There were days I just kept pushing myself and saying ‘It’s going to happen.’ But there were dark days when you think, ‘Is this going to happen? Or am I wishing for something that’s not reality?’”

Fernandez seemed to be a prime candidate to come from Cuba to become a major leaguer after he hit .524 in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He hit .319 with a .402 on-base percentage in parts of eight years in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, the country’s top league.

“I knew that I wanted to come to the United States,” he said. “I hit a ceiling in Cuba where I knew there wasn’t going to be anywhere for me to go to get the next challenge.”

Fernandez attempted to defect in 2014. He did not want to go into detail about what happened, but it did not end well. He was unable to play until he was finally allowed to leave Cuba legally in December 2015.

“It was very tough,” he said. “This is what I love to do, and you are at an age where you think you are at the top of your game, and your skills are flourishing. To be in a position where I couldn’t play was very frustrating. That was the issue that kept driving me, the idea that I could get out of the situation.”

Once Fernandez got out, to the Dominican Republic, he spent more than a year just working out with a track and field coach to get himself in shape, before he even returned to the baseball field. He played in the Dominican in the winter of 2016-17, earning a $200,000 signing bonus with the Dodgers.

His time in Dodgers camp last year was a whirlwind, he said.

“I was a little out of sorts,” he said. “It was like, ‘Is this reality? I have been seeing these guys on TV, and now I’m in the same clubhouse.’ Once I got more comfortable, it was about playing baseball. It gave me a chance to know that this is the same game I could play back in Cuba.”

Fernandez spent most of the season at Double-A, hitting .306 with a .366 on-base percentage. His season was cut short when he broke his hand in late July. Fernandez had a clause in his Dodgers contract mandating that he be added to the 40-man roster or released over the winter, so the Dodgers released him.

The Angels signed him, and now he’s in camp fighting for the last spot on the bench, most notably with Colin Walsh, Kaleb Cowart and Nolan Fontana. Fernandez is working out at second and third, but he’s considered more advanced as a hitter than a defender. A left-handed hitter, Fernandez is 4 for 15 with 3 walks this spring.

“In the batter’s box, he’s very comfortable,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He can swing the bat. He’s having a good spring.”

Fernandez said so far he’s confident he picked the right team after the Dodgers let him go.

“With the opportunity I’m getting, I know I’m in the right spot,” he said. “I’ve been given a chance to play. I’ve shown my versatility at second and third. I’m ready for whatever role they want.”

Notes

Chris Young (strained calf) is scheduled to take live batting practice Friday. Young said he could get at-bats in minor league games in the next few days, and perhaps play in big league exhibition games in about a week. Young said there’s still time for him to be ready opening day. …

Jefry Marte (groin tightness) returned to the field Thursday for some agility work and hitting. Scioscia said Marte is “healing quickly” but he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to play in a game. Marte, who is out of options this spring, has a shot to win the last spot on the Angels bench, but that would leave them with Zack Cozart as the backup second baseman. …

Shohei Ohtani is scheduled for four innings and 60 pitches in his outing Friday against the Tijuana Toros, of the Mexican League. The game starts at noon, Arizona time, at Tempe Diablo Stadium. It is open to the public, with no charge for admission…

The Angels made their first cuts of the spring, sending catchers Michael Barash and Jack Krueger to minor league camp.

Jeff Fletcher has covered the Angels since 2013. Before that, he spent 11 years covering the Giants and A's and working as a national baseball writer. Jeff is a Hall of Fame voter. In 2015, he was elected chairman of the Los Angeles chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

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